UPDATE: Xbox App On Windows 10: Facebook Friend Finder And Other Updates

In addition to the New Xbox One Experience update released for Xbox One last week, we continue to improve our other Xbox products and services including the Xbox App on Windows 10. I discuss some of these new features in the video below, while Mike Ybarra, Director of Program Management, Xbox comments on the update in his post over at Xbox Wire, which I’ve included below.

Those of you running Windows 10 on your PC or tablet may have noticed some exciting updates in the Xbox app over the past few days. Just like on Xbox One, regular updates inspired by fan feedback have been a cornerstone for the Xbox app on Windows 10. Your feedback through the Xbox beta app has been extremely valuable, and we’ve been listening. Today, you’ll notice an upgraded social experience in the Xbox app as we’re unifying your Xbox Live and Facebook communities with the release of the Facebook friend finder. This feature joins the recently launched Game DVR voice recording feature and improvements to the Xbox Store accessible through the Xbox app.

Here’s an overview of the new experiences that you can now enjoy:

Facebook friend finder in the Xbox app and on Xbox.com: Inspired by a top requested fan feature, we’re bringing two of your favorite social networks together – Xbox Live and Facebook – and making it easier than ever to find more people to play games and have fun with. In the Friends column on the right side of the Xbox app, look for the Facebook icon in the Suggested Friends area. Click it to link your Facebook account to your Xbox Live account and start seeing suggestions for Facebook friends who you can add on Xbox Live. Facebook friend finder can also be found in the Settings area of the Xbox app.

As your friends link their Facebook accounts to their Xbox Live accounts, you’ll see increasing numbers of Facebook friend suggestions, so be sure to spread the word. One easy way to do this: when you first link your Xbox Live account to your Facebook account in the Xbox app, take advantage of the “Share to Facebook” option which will generate an “I’m on Xbox” post on your Facebook timeline.

When your friends see your shared “I’m on Xbox” post on Facebook, they can click through and access the Facebook friend finder on Xbox.com, which also becomes available this week. In this way, web users on any platform and device can grow their Xbox Live network with Facebook friends as well.

Record voiceover in your Game DVR clips on your PC: With today’s Xbox app update running on the latest Windows 10 update, you can now plug in a headset and narrate your Windows 10 game clips with your own voice using Game bar and Game DVR hotkeys. To turn microphone recording on or off for a gaming session, press Win + Alt + M. Want to turn microphone recording on for all gaming sessions? Go to Game bar > Settings > Audio or Xbox app > Settings > Game DVR > Audio. And if you like personalizing your Game DVR hotkeys and want to customize the microphone recording hotkey, do it here: Game bar > Settings > Shortcuts or Xbox app > Settings > Game DVR > Keyboard shortcuts.

Share your Windows Store game clips with your voiceover commentary with your friends on Xbox Live through the Xbox app, or share any of your game clips on the social network of your choice through your PC.

Record ANY game on your Windows 10 PC: The recent Windows 10 update also enables you to record game clips and capture screenshots for ALL games, including PC games where Game bar and Game DVR hotkeys didn’t work earlier.

Xbox Store section: The Store section in the Xbox app will now bring you into the Xbox Store – a launching point for browsing and searching for both Windows 10 and Xbox One games. The new interface allows you to see more content in the Store at a glance and brings you the latest crop of the most popular Windows 10 and Xbox One games, plus you can redeem Games with Gold games or get discounted games through Deals with Gold. Additional details on Xbox Store improvements that we tested recently in the Xbox beta app and have now officially released to the Xbox app can be found here.

NEW RELEASE: Star Wars Battlefront Is Now Available For Xbox One

Star Wars Battlefront

Fight for the Rebellion or Empire in a wide variety of multiplayer matches for up to 40 players, or in exciting challenges inspired by the films available solo, split-screen or through online co-op. Star Wars Battlefront combines this epic action on a galactic scale with stunning visual recreations of some of the most iconic planets, weapons, characters, and vehicles in the Star Wars universe and the original sound effects from the films, to give you the ultimate immersive interactive Star Wars experience you’ve been looking for. Prepare to be transported to a galaxy far, far away.

NEWS: Button Remapping Now Available On Standard Xbox Wireless Controllers

As part of the New Xbox One Experience, we have added button remapping capability for standard Xbox One controllers through the Xbox Accessories App. This highly-requested feature offers a great alternative to remapping buttons on an individual game basis. Now each user on the console can have their own custom button mapping.

For those who want the ultimate degree of personalization, the Xbox Elite Wireless controller is the best choice for complete control. Here’s how the remapping capabilities compare across the Elite and standard controllers:

Standard controller remapping can be accessed in three ways through the New Xbox One Experience:

1. Settings / Kinect & Devices / Devices & Accessories
2. Settings / Ease of access / Button mapping
3. Launch the Xbox Accessories app directly

For standard controllers, you can now swap button pairs. For example, if you choose to map LB to X, then X is automatically mapped to LB. This maintains that all buttons are always mapped on a standard controller. You can do multiple button swaps in sequence to move button commands to where you want them to be on the controller. When buttons are remapped on a standard controller, the remapping is not transferrable to other consoles. In other words, if you move to another console, you’ll need to go through the remapping process again with that new console. Remapping is available for both first party wireless and third party wired controllers. Remapping for standard controllers is available for Xbox One consoles only, with PC support to be confirmed at a later time.

For the Elite controller, the only required buttons that need to be mapped somewhere on the controller are A and B. Another unique remapping feature for the Elite Controller is that you can have multiple buttons mapped to the same function (e.g. multiple physical buttons or paddles can be mapped to X). Remapped settings are stored directly on Elite controller, so you can bring your custom settings to another console or PC.

On consoles, the Xbox Accessories app notifies users if their controller has an optional or mandatory firmware update. On the PC, the recently updated Xbox Accessories app can now be used to update the firmware on your standard controller, Elite controller, or Chatpad.

New Xbox One Experience background PSD template

The option to use a custom image for your Xbox One background has been available for quite some time, but now that the New Xbox One Experience is out, you might find its time to update your existing background. I asked the Xbox design team to create a Photoshop .psd template so you can easily create your own great looking custom made backgrounds for your Xbox One.

You can download the .PSD here (7 MB Zip File) 

Here is a refresher on how to set your own custom background.

Check out this subreddit for Xbox One Backgrounds.

Major Nelson: "I am providing this template as a community service. It’s not officially supported (don’t call Xbox Support for help.) If you have questions, feel free to ask them in the comments below and one of our community members may give you a hand."

HOW TO: Change the background of your Xbox One (NXOE)

Tired of looking at the same old background?

Here is how to change the background of your Xbox One with the New Xbox One Experience (NXOE) Update.

This is slightly different than it was on the old dashboard.

1. Go to the Home Screen by pressing the Xbox button on the controller.
2. Using the left stick move to the left.
3. Go down to the settings options (the little gear)
4. Select All Settings
5. Go down to personalization
6. Move right to My Color & Background press A
7.  Select My background, and then select from the available choices on the Your background screen.

Achievement art. Allows you to use any of your app or game achievements as a background or to purchase background images. To do this, select one of your achievements and then select Set as background.

Custom image. Allows you to use an image from your Xbox One or upload one from a USB drive.
Note Custom images can only be used on the console where they were saved. You won’t see the background on any other console that you use.

Screenshot. Allows you to use one of your saved screenshots as a background image.

You can download a .PSD HERE to use as a template in Photoshop to make your own background.